


Serendipity

by addledwalrus



Series: Folkloric Tales [6]
Category: Chinese Mythology, Original Work
Genre: Alcohol, Ancient China, Art, Asian Character(s), Bronze Age, Children, Chinese Character, Chinese Food, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Cooking, Crafts, Culture, Curiosity, Dinosaurs, Discovery, Dragons, Exploration, Fear, Fire, Gen, Geographical Isolation, Geography, Historical, Hunters & Hunting, Husbands, Intoxication, Marriage, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Paranoia, Prehistoric, Primitive Culture, Rivers, Sculpture, Skeletons, Some Humor, Travel, Wives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 22:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addledwalrus/pseuds/addledwalrus
Summary: Four anecdotes about the inhabitants of prehistoric and Bronze Age China.





	Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> From what I've seen of Chinese culture, a lot of pride is held for their Four Great Inventions and there is a distinct story explaining the origins of each one. I thought I'd write about ubiquitous things that traditionally don't get as much attention.
> 
> Another thing that probably can't be denied about China, is that like other East Asian countries, unity and conformity are valued to the point that those who stand out from the crowd aren't always treated well (to put it nicely).

**Banks of the Yellow River, Several Millennia BC**

* * *

It was while the women, children and elderly busied themselves by foraging for fruit, that the curious one grew bored and wandered off to seek excitement elsewhere. The sun was high up in the sky when he arrived at the riverside and the ground scorched his feet, so he sought relief by dipping them into the water.

He passed the time by attempting to scoop up some nearby soil. It felt unusually thick and heavy and his hand came back up holding a sticky slab.

He stared down in confusion, then gave a squeeze to find that the act left clear imprints of his fingertips in the brown substance. He tried this again with the same result and his interest grew.

He began to press harder and upon realizing that the slab could be molded however which way he wanted, starting stretching it as well until he'd produced a crude replica of his own form.

The others had to know of this discovery, so he ran as fast as he could back to the rest of the tribe and sought his mother first. She looked up and opened her mouth to scold him, only to hold her tongue when she saw the object in his hands.

* * *

The resourceful one approached with caution shortly after the large four-legged creature had wandered away.

She'd spied the creature grazing on the tall green stalks that had been growing rapidly ever since the rain season had ended. The leaves of each stalk tapered into bunches of what appeared to be rough brown seeds.

She plucked off several of the seeds and dropped them inside her woven basket before hurrying home to assist the other women with cooking the meat of the horned animal that some men had managed to hunt down.

Words of dissuasion from peers only made her more determined to prove them wrong. She started her own fire apart from the rest of the tribe and boiled the seeds in a clay pot of water.

A few brave ones gave in when she presented the finished result and it was soon found that though the expanded brown grains were rather fibrous in texture, they were appetizing enough to make one wish to consume more.

* * *

A strange but somewhat pleasant smell was apparent when the farmer returned to his hut for the night, prompted him to begin investigating. He ignored his wife's intrusive questions whilst pushing aside jars and bowls until it finally dawned upon him what the potential source was.

He grabbed the jar that had been used to deposit some grapes he'd collected days earlier and upon opening it, the stench became rather more potent. His wife briefly stopped speaking and wrinkled her face up in distaste.

The grapes were by now wrinkled and brown, and the forgetful one noticed that a sticky, frothy juice had pooled beneath them. He gave into curiosity and dipped a finger into the jar despite his wife's resumed protests, before allowing himself a taste.

Intense sweetness, sourness and bitterness hit his tongue in rapid succession unlike anything he had eaten or drunken in the past. He turned to look back at his wife and was at a loss as to how best to describe what he'd experienced, yet one thing was certain; he now craved another drop and felt like shouting at the top of his voice.

* * *

The potter pushed his wagon containing several months' worth of hard work up the steep hill with much effort, the main thing motivating him being the possibility that the inhabitants of a neighboring village would appreciate his wares enough to trade.

He eventually reached the top and allowed himself a period of rest while gazing down at the valley below.

A large shape protruding from the ground caught his eye as he carefully began to descend moments later.

The closer he got, the more apparent it became that the mysterious object was none other than the exposed bone of a long dead animal.

Such a sight would have prompted him to simply move along if it weren't for the sheer size of said bone. It was as long as he was tall and he came to a stop, before tentatively letting go of his wagon and walking over to get a closer look.

A chill ran down his spine as he pressed a hand against the bone's smooth surface. It terrified him to think that creatures of such size could still exist somewhere and any plans of selling his wares became insignificant as he pondered over whether it would be wise to tell others of his discovery.

 _"I must let people know..."_ He finally decided after much pacing back and forth.  _"If only so this fear won't be felt by me alone..."_


End file.
